Guardians of Norad
by Kuritiragonette
Summary: Specter, Morpho, Iris, and Marine, they're the group of kids that wander the kingdom of Norad, looking for a better life, and after a long time of searching, they stumble upon the town of Selphia, where they're accepted by the heroes of the town, Lest and Frey. But what secrets lie in the forgotten memories of the team that connects them to the lives of the prince and princess?
1. Attack on Mamadoodle!

**A/N FINALLY, THE START OF A NEW SERIES! [yay~! XD] NOW, [After a long time of preperation, and some research] IT'S TIME FOR THE 1ST CHAP! [enjoy!]**

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"I'm ssooooo boooorrrrreeedd, I-chan," Specter said from the branch he was slacking off on...**again**.  
"Well, that's not **my** problem, is it, Spect?" Iris- a.k.a. I-chan- growled at him from the foot of the tree where she was planning our way out of this forest and into the next town.  
"Hey, Iris," A voice said as a small kid came from the shadows, a grilled fish in his hands. "I got a grilled Rainbow Trout with you name on it."  
"Oh- OH, THANK YOU SOOOO VERY MUCH, I LLLLLOOOOOVVEE THIS!" Iris exclaimed as she hugged the little kid- Morpho's his name- so tightly that his cerulean butterfly wings where flapping desperately to escape her tight grasp.  
"Morpho, daijobu?" She asked as she let him out of her grasp.  
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said with a smile.  
"Marine, any thunderstorms comin'?" Specter asked, a light brown eye peeking from behind his blond hair.  
"Let me check." I said as I pricked up my black ears that peeked from behind my violet hair, and after a few moments, I didn't feel anything. "No, at least for a few days."  
"Good, let's get moving then." Specter said as he swung down from the branch he was resting on.  
"Uh, Spect, this is are camp for the night, remember?" I asked him as he suddenly froze in place.  
"He was obviously asleep when we planned it." Morpho said.  
"H-hey, I wasn't asleep," Specter exclaimed, a light blush dusting his pale skin. "I was...just resting my eyes!"  
"Yeah, right, Specty." I said as I brushed my violet tail, trying to get some twigs out of it.  
***That night...*  
**"Hey, Spect?"  
"Yeah, Rine?"  
"Do you think I'm...weird?" I asked my 'brother' as we lied on the ground near the fire while everyone else was sleeping.  
"Well..." Specter started as he looked up at the starry sky. "What do you mean 'weird'? You're totally normal in my books."  
"Really?" I asked as he brushed his blond bang that was covering his left eye.  
"Yeah." He said as he looked into my golden eyes for a little bit. "Is it because of you're ears and tail?"  
I looked away from him, I guess he used his special power to read my thoughts.  
"I knew it," He said as he grinned at me and then slipped into his sleeping bag. "'Night, Rine."  
"Goodnight, Spect." I said as I wiggled back into my 'bed' and started to drift to sleep.  
***The Next Day..* [Spect's POV*]  
**"W-WHAT'S THAT?!" Iris asked, very surprised as she stared at a small monster that was very fluffy.  
"Baka," Marine said as she walked over to the small monster and fed it some blue grass she'd found earlier as we traveled in an area that seemed to always be summer. "It's a wooly, isn't it sooooo kawaii?"  
"I agree with Rine," I said as I stroked the now-tamed wooly's fur.  
"I do too~!" Morpho said as he hugged the monster, his wings flapping with happiness.  
"AHH!" I heard Iris' voice shriek from behind me.  
"Iris, it's just a harmless wooly, don't wor-" I stopped in mid-sentence as she pointed to a monster.  
A Mamadoodle to be exact.  
"SPECT, HELP ME!" Iris screamed as I pulled out my staff and began to hit it.  
"Hey, don't hog it all for yourself, Spect!" Marine said as she hit it's wing with her Bear Claws. [a type of fist weapon]  
After a while of fighting, we got pretty tired, but the Madoodle [shorter ver. of Mamadoodle] just brushed off our attacks.  
"We can't do it, if we keep fighting like this," I said and then stopped to lift myself up with my staff. "We could be severely injured, or worse."  
"Spect..." I heard Rine whisper.  
After a moment or two I made a decicion.  
"You guys go on ahead, see if you can find a village or somethin'," I said as I tried to hold back a giant claw with my staff.  
"Spect, don't," Iris started. "You know what'll happen if you keep fighting like this."  
"JUST GO ALREADY!" I said as I was suddenly pinned down by the Madoodle's claw.  
Rine looked at me for a minute before she led the rest of the team away from the area.  
/I'll be fine, Rine,/ I thought as my staff was knocked out of my hand by the monster. /One way or another, I'll be back to protect you.../

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**A/N NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, SPECT'S GONNA DIIIIEEEE! OR IS HE? FIND OUT IN CHAP 2! BYE~! -Kuritiragonette**


	2. Welcome to Selphia

***Later, Morpho's POV* **  
"Hello? Anyone here?" I yelled as I tried to flap my soaked light blue wings while rain splashed on my face.  
"Morpho, no one's around here for miles, give it up alrea-" Iris started but was interrupted by the sound of a howling wolf towards the direction that we left Specter.  
"Hey, Sir, are you alright? Answer me!" I heard a voice say in the distance.  
"Girls, follow me." I said as I quickly started to fly towards Spect's location as fast as I could.  
"Silver, get that Mamadoodle!" A lady's voice said as I flew closer.  
Then, the whole forest fell silent.  
The Mamadoodle was defeated. [Finally]  
"Who're you?" Marine asked, her Bear Claws ready to attack.  
The woman looked at us with very light green eyes.  
"Watashi no Frey," She said as she curtsied. "The Hime of Slephia."  
***Later, Marine's POV...*[A.K.A: Selphia]  
**"Will Specter be alright?" I asked the mint haired woman that saved him.  
"I wouldn't worry about him, our Doctor's the best when it comes to helping people like your friend here." Frey said as she poured four cups of some kind of tea.  
I sipped some and instantly started to relax a bit, it must have been Relax Tea.  
"So, what are your names?" Frey asked us.  
"I'm Marine," I started.  
"And I'm Morpho," Morpho said.  
"Oh, I am Iris." Iris said after an awkward moment of silence.  
Frey looked at me and Iris for a while.  
"Um, Princess Frey..."  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Frey apologized. "I was just looking at your ears."  
Iris and I exchanged glances.  
"Almost like Dylas and Leon..." I heard Frey whisper to herself.  
"Anyway, have you met anyone else in the town yet?" She asked us.  
We all shook our heads.  
"Princess Frey," A male voice said from the doorway that went into another part of the castle. "Lady Ventuswill would like to speak with you."  
"Alright, I'll be there in a moment," She told the voice. "Please excuse me, but I have Royal business to attend to."  
And with that, she set her cup on the table and walked out of the room.  
"I wonder who 'Ventuswill' is." Morpho said.  
"That's not the only name I heard right now," I said as Iris' Turquoise eyes looked at me. "I also heard 'Dylas' and 'Leon'."  
The room was quiet for some time before Morpho broke the silence.  
"Hey, I'm hungry, Let's see if there are any places to eat." He said as he took my pale hand and Iris' mocha one and led us us out of the castle.  
***Meanwhile, Spect's POV*  
**_/What...happened?/_ I thought to myself as I stared into pitch blackness.  
_/Am...I...no, I couldn't have gone down that easily.../_  
"Specter..." A vioce rang through my head.  
"M-marine?! Is that really you?!" I asked.  
"Oh, you're alive! Thank goodness." I heard Marine's sweet voice say.  
"Yeah, but what happened?"  
"Well, you were unconscious after the fight with the Mamadoodle, Ms. Frey took care of the Mamadoodle and took all of us to her hometown." Marine explained.  
"Okay," I said. "Do you think you could come see me right now?"  
"Sure, we'll be there in a minute," She said. "See ya soon!"  
And with that, I was left in silence yet again.  
_/There's somethin strange about this town,/_ I thought to myself. _/It's...almost like...We'd been here before...but when?/  
_***Iris' POV, That night...*  
**"Thank you very much for letting us spend the night, Mrs. Lin Fa." I said as I bowed politely.  
"Oh no, It's alright," Lin Fa said with a warm smile. "Any friend of her Highness is also my friend."  
"As well as mine, no?" Xiao Pai, Lin Fa's odd daughter said in her odd accent.  
"Hey, Lin Fa, Xiao," A Very burly man that wore a very old fashioned attire said as he walked into the lobby of the Bell Hotel, his Peacock feather fan covering most of his face except for his beautiful Turquoise eyes.  
"Why, good evening, Leon," Lin Fa greeted the man as he stopped to look at us.  
"So, Leon, I'm Iris, Nice to meet you." I said when Leon looked at me.

"And these are my friends, Marine, Specter, and Morpho."

"Anyway, I think we should be getting to our room now," I said as the rest of the group walked up the stairs. "good night."  
"Excuse me, Miss Iris," He said as I started to walk up the stairs. "But I was wondering if we could have tea tomorrow."  
"Um, sure," I said. "Is 10 good for you?"  
"Yes, that seems like a perfect time," He said as I continued to walk up. "Oh, and one more thing,"  
"Yes, Leon?"  
"私たちは同じで一つです~" He smirked at me as he moved his fan away from his face to reveal odd markings on his cheeks that stood out on his mocha skin, also, his Fox-like ears twitched slightly, as well as the look that he had in his eye.  
"Well, until then," I said as I winked at him. "I hope you will have a good night, Leon."  
_/Now I know why I felt the way I felt when I came here,/_ I thought to myself as I ran up to our room, filled to the rim with happiness. _/It's...because...I knew...that all my dreams...were actually hopes...hopes for the future. And now...They've come true./_

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**A/N YAY! SPECT DIDN'T DIE! XD ANYWAY, CAN ANYONE DECIPHER WHAT LEON WAS SAYING?! IF U HAVE THE ANSWER, PUT IT IN THE REVIEW OF THIS CHAP, AND YOU'LL GET A VIRTUAL CUPCAKE~! X] AND, UNTIL NEXT TIME, THIS IS **クリ~**, SIGNING OFF! SEE U IN THE NEXT CHAP! XD  
**


	3. Oricalcum, Charm Blues, and pillows

***Spect's POV, The next day...***

"Lest?" I repeated after the Blonde-haired prince.  
"Yeah, and who're you?" He asked, his violet eyes looking into mine.  
"I'm Specter." I said as we shook hands.  
"Excuse me, but have you met my sister, Frey, yet?" He asked.  
"Oh, Frey? Yeah, she's really nic-wait, YOUR SISTER?!"  
Lest just smiled.  
After he told us a story about him and Frey and how in the hey they ended up here in Selphia. And as soon as that was done, I saw that Iris was trying to sneak out of our little group.  
"Iris, where do _you_ think _you're_ going?"  
"N-nowhere that you need to follow me..."  
"Yeah right, we're coming with's." Marine said.  
"No, you can't come."  
"Why not, I-chan?" Morpho asked.  
"Just...because..." She said as she ran away from us.  
"Iris," I whispered to myself. "what are you hiding?"

***Iris' POV, somewhere else...***  
"Where are your friends, Iris?" Leon asked as he perked his ears up a bit.  
"Um, they didn't want to come." I said as I curled my tail next to my legs.  
"Oh, well that's too bad," He said as he poured a glass of tea for me.  
It smelled a little odd, to be honest. I took a sip, and it tasted pretty good.  
"It's Charm Blue Tea, pretty good, huh?"  
"Yeah, who knew a poisonous flower could taste so good?"  
He smiled at me, and then, he dangled the oricalcum earrings that hung from my ears.  
"Oricalcum, they really bring out your eyes, you know?" He said as I saw his tail wagging happily.  
Then, he started to move my hair behind my ears to get a glance of my marks.  
"Just like mine, huh?" Leon said.  
"Well, you're my otou-san," I said. "By the way, where's Ka-san?"  
He stayed silent, then there was a knock at the door.  
"Leon, are you there? It's Lest." A young man's voice said from behind the door of Leon's door.  
"Excuse me, Iris, I need to get this." Leon said as he answered the door, and standing there was Lest.  
"Oh, who's this nice young lady here, Leo?" He asked.  
"I'm Iris, I was just talking to Leon." I said.  
"Iris, did you drink the tea?" Lest whispered to me.  
I nodded.  
"Well, here's a welcoming gift from Frey and I, hope you'll like it." Lest said as he pulled out a bag of chocolate cookies.  
My ears perked up and my tail wagged joyfully at the smell of the sweets.  
"Thank you very much, Prince Lest," I said as he gave me the cookies. "Well, I hope to talk to you soon, Leon."  
"As do I, Miss Iris." He said as he moved his ears and winked at me, I copied him and then made my way to my room, wondering if my comrades had come home yet.**  
**  
***Somewhere else, Marine's POV...***  
"'Porcoline's Kitchen'?" I said as I read the sign on a giant building that looked like a mansion.  
"I heard it's the best place to grab some grub in Selphia," Spect said as his stomach growled.  
"Mari-chan, Spect-nii's stomach's getting angry." Morpho said as his own stomach roared with hunger.  
"I think your tummy-chan want's to eat, Morpho." I said.  
"Let's go already, Mari, I'm so hungry I could eat a hundred woolies right now." Spect said as he walked towards the doors of the restaurant.  
We were just walking in when I heard someone yelling.  
"PORCO, WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT EATING THE CUSTOMER'S FOOD?!" A woman's vioce said.  
"I'm sorry, Meg," Another voice apologized. "But I was soooo hungry..."  
"Excuse me," I heard Morpho's soft voice start as my eyes frantically started to look for him, and I saw that he was talking to a woman that was wearing a light blue dress with a navy blue belt that was dotted with small yellow flowers, snow white leggings, ice-blue shoes that had feather accessories on them, and she had long blond hair that had an unusual headband, light blue flower decorations, and had brown strings that were tangled up in her hair, and were even wrapped around her pointed elf ears.  
"But, can me and my friends eat here?"  
"Oh, of course, cutie," The lady said as she led him to a table. "And welcome to Porcoline's Kitchen. I'm Margaret, by the way."  
"Nice to meet you, Margaret, I'm Marine, and this is Morpho and Specter." I introduced my friends, and suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt someone mess with my ears.  
I looked back and came face-to-face with guess who?  
Iris.  
"So, what's on the menu, Mari?" She asked as she sat next to me.  
"Why should I tell you, you glutton?"  
"H-hey! I'm not fat! am I?" She asked as Morpho shook his head.  
"Keep telling yourself that, Gluttonette."

***That night, at the Inn, Morpho's POV...***  
"PILLOW FIGHT!" I yelled as I grabbed my pillow and hit Specter on the back of the head with it.  
"Hey, I wasn't prepared!" Spect said as he grabbed his own pillow and struck me with it, sending me crashing down to the bed.  
"Guys, can you be a teeny, tiny bit quieter," I-chan said from her bed. "I'm trying to read here."  
"Gomen ne, Onii-chan," I said as I dodged another blow to the face.  
"Hey, t's not fair you two get all the fun! Let me join you in your little Feather War~!" I sang as I grabbed **two **pillows and joined the fight.  
"PILLOW POWA!" Mari yelled as she hurled a pillow towards Spect, and hit him right in the face.  
"Take this!" Spect said as he used his magic to gather all the pillows in the room...and hurl them at Mari.  
This continued on for quite some time until Iris had enough and told us to go to bed.  
"Hey, guys?" Spect asked when we were all in bed.  
"Yeah?" The rest of us responded.  
"Do any of you feel...almost like...we've been here before?"  
There was a moment of silence while all of us thought about that question.  
"Well," Iris started. "I felt like I'd eaten Porcoline's amazing cooking before."  
"And I felt like I'd smelled the sweet aroma of Pink Cats before we'd come here." I admitted.  
"I thought I'd felt like I'd been on the Airship, with the occasional bumps here and there." Marine said.  
"I seem to remember the bright colors of this place," Spect said. "Even though we've never been here, weird, huh?"  
"Yeah," We said in unison.  
"'Night guys," Spect said.  
"Good night." Everyone else yawned.  
_/It feels like there's something important that I forgot,/_ I thought to myself. _/Well, there's no sense dwelling on it, right? I should be asleep now, it's past midnight already, and tomorrow's another day,/_ I thought as I closed my eyes. _/Another day free from them.../_


	4. The Visitors From Sherance: Part 1

***Newbie's POV, that night***  
_/This. is. just. Perfect./ _I sighed as I looked at my culinary creation, that was ruined by my younger siblings. _/I should have never agreed to teach Sora how to cook Rainbow trout, I don't even think he removed the poison from it like I told him to./  
_"Embi~!" I heard my little sister sing as she ran up to me, her golden pigtails following behind her.  
"'Sup, Reia?" I asked as I threw away the catastrophic creation.  
"I learned a new spell, isn't that great?!" She asked, her teal eyes lighting up as she spun around in her orange and pink attire.  
"Yeah," I said, a small smile on my face. "You're one step closer to being the best mage in Norad."  
She hugged me tight, and I hugged her back.  
Hi, my name's Ember, and my sister's name is Reia. I also have a little brother who's a little older than Reia, his name's Sora, and if you were to look at us, you wouldn't even think that we were** related**. I mean, I have orange hair that fades down to gold, and Sora has blonde hair, as does Reia, but, for some odd reason, Reia has** teal** eyes instead of **blue**. [Where did **THAT** come from?!]  
"Hey, Embi!" Sora's voice yelled from somewhere. "Watch out!"  
"Why?-" I asked too soon as my face met with that of a golden furball, A.K.A: my **very** annoying, dare-devilish, brother, Sora.  
"SORA, WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT JUMPING FROM TALL TREES?!" I scolded my younger brother as he transformed back into a human.  
"You said: 'When you are in wooly form, your body is weaker than your human form, and that you can get hurt more easily...'blah, blah, blah." He said, mocking my voice.  
That was **it.  
**"Sora. Tent. NOW." I said, pointing to his tent.  
He huffed and then stomped into his tent.  
"Embi?" Reia asked after a few minutes of silence. "Why do you look like mom and not like dad?"  
"I...really don't know, Reia." I said looking up at the stars above our heads.  
"I think you'd look prettier if you wore your hair in a different slye, Embi."  
"R-really?"  
"Yeah, really."  
"But...I don't know how..."  
"I'll teach you, Embi!" Reia said as she got behind me and started to style my hair, and a few seconds later, she guided me to the nearby pond to see my reflection.  
I had a high ponytail with a toyherb crown braided in.  
"WOOLY!" Reia yelled happily as she admired her creation. [She learned about catchphrases from Aunt Daria saying 'RAINBOW' all the time back home.]  
"Thanks for doing all that, Reia." I said as I messed up her perfect hair playfully.  
"NOOOO," Reia yelled. "My beautiful hair is RUINED!"  
"I'll fix it, just hold still..." I said as I let her hair down and attempted to make the pigtails she had.  
"Alright, judge me." I said as she looked into the river to see that her hair was back to normal.  
"You...YOU'RE JUST AS GOOD AS I AM, EMBI!" She said as she hugged me. "I knew you could become a pro hairstylist like moi!"  
"Thanks...I guess..."  
***The next day, Reia's POV***  
"kimi no egao torimodosu tame, nando demo, boku wa, uta o yamenai," I sang as we walked down a path that had some yellow flowers here and there. "ikutsu mo no yoru o koe, kono negai, kanau sono hi made~!"  
"Hey, Em," Sora said as he adjusted his backpack. "How much longer before we get to Selphia?"  
"About another day or two..." Embi said.  
"REALLY?!" Sora groaned. "I'LL HAVE TO WALK ANOTHER** 2 DAYS** TO GET THERE?!"  
Embi glared at him, as if to tell him to shut it.  
"Hey, guys," I said as I pointed to a fruit-filled tree. "Can one of you get some apples for us, last time I checked we were running low."  
"I'll get it for you, Reia." Embi said as she grabbed a few apples from the tall tree and dumped them into her backpack.  
"Arigatou, Onii-chan~!" I said as I smiled.  
Embi was picking some more when she suddenly stopped.  
"Embi, what's-"  
"SHH!" She ordered as we became silent.  
There was a sound, like something was coming towards us.  
I quickly changed into a wooly and hid in the nearby bushes.  
"Sora, hurry up and transform!" I whispered to him.  
"Nah, don't worry, I can take 'em." He said as he pulled out a pair of swords and got in an attack position, waiting for whatever would come out of the woods.  
"Sora!" Embi yelled as she pushed him towards my bush and turned into her monster form, a Phoenix.  
"OW! HEY, EM, WATCH WERE YOU'RE GOIN-" He said as something came out of the bushes.  
It was a person, and he looked about my age, but there was something strange about him. He had light mint hair and smokey-grey eyes, he looked a lot like a girl to tell the truth, he was just TOO CUTE~!  
He walked up to Embi and stared at her.  
"Hello, there," He said as he held out a hand to touch her flame-colored feathers.  
She 'cawed' at him angrily, warning him to back off.  
"It's alright," He said gently as he repeated his actions. "I'm not going to hurt you...I promise..."  
I stared at them, and I was surprised when she let him touch her feathers.  
"See, I told you you could trust me~." He said as he smiled.  
"HEY, STOP TOUCHING HER!" Sora said as he jumped from out pf the bush. "JUST WHO DO 'YA THINK YOU ARE?"  
He looked at my brother innocently, like he hadn't done nothing wrong.  
"My name is Morpho," He said as a pair of sapphire-colored wings sprouted from his back. "Nice to meet you."


	5. The Visitors From Sherance: Part 2

***Morpho's POV*  
**"Morpho?" The blonde stranger asked me.  
"Yes, and who're you?"  
"I'm Sora," His light blue orbs glanced the beautiful fire bird that sat next to him. "And that's Ember."  
"Oh," I said as I looked into the monster's sapphire eyes. "Nice to meet you, Ember."  
"Now, Morpho," Sora said as he sheathed his blades. "Why were you touching her?"  
"I just thought that she was scared of me, and I wanted to make sure that she knew that I wasn't going to hurt her." I explained as I wrapped my wings around my small body.  
"Are those...?" He asked as he reached out to touch one of my wings.  
"Wings? Yeah, had them as long as I can remember."  
His face now wore a big grin.  
"YES," He said as he messed up my hair. "I KNEW WE WOULD FIND SOMEONE LIKE US, RIGHT EMBI?"  
I suddenly heard rustling in the bushes.  
"Really?! He's half?" A girl about my age asked as she ran out of the bushes. She had medium-length golden hair that was fixed into twin pigtails, light skin, and teal eyes. She wore a pair of light brown boots, an orange skirt, and a hot pink sailor top.  
_/W-who's she?/ _I thought as my face heated up slowly.  
"You're Morpho, right?" She said as she gazed at me through her turquoise orbs. "I'm Reia!"  
"Nice...to meet...you...Reia..." I said as we shook hands.  
"Hey, do you know where Selphia is?" She asked.  
"Yeah," I said as I got up. "That's where I live, Follow me."  
After a while, we came up to the gates of Selphia that connected to the area of eternal Summer, where I found them.  
"FINALLY, SELPHIA!" Sora exclaimed as he unsheathed his blades and started juggling them along with some gemstones that he found along the way here.  
"Sora, watch where you swing those things!" Reia scolded her older brother as he then threw everything into the air and in an instant his blades were sheathed, and the items were back in his backpack.  
_/SU. GO._ I/  
***That night...Reia's POV***  
"Are you sure about this, Embi?" I asked as she rolled one of her flame-colored feathers in her fingers.  
"Yeah," She said finally. "Mom must have gone back to Sherance to sell what she found here, like she always does."  
That was true, she would leave every few months to gather some extra materials when Uncle Gaius needed them.  
"How long will we have to stay here?"  
"A while."  
"'WHADDA MEAN A WHILE?"  
"I mean a long time, Sora." She glared at him in annoyance.  
_/I wonder if I can still see Morpho when we leave.../_ I thought.  
"Anyway, It's getting late, and we've had quite a day," Embi said as she rolled out her sleeping bag.  
"Goodnight, guys." Embi said a few minutes later.  
" 'Night, Embi." I said.  
Sora was fast asleep.  
***Later...***  
"Reia," I heard someone whisper. "Reia, wake up."  
"Sora, It was probably a wooly or somethi-" I stopped mid sentence as I met with a pair of smokey gray eyes.  
"Morpho, what-"  
"Shh," He pressed a finger to his lips, and motioned me to follow him.  
/_Why is he here so late?/_ I kept wondering as I followed him to what seemed to be a small lake.  
"Reia," Morpho said as he stared into the clear water. "I'm sorry for waking you up this late, but I wanted to talk to you."  
"Okay," I said as I sat beside him. "About what?"  
"About you and your siblings," He said as he turned to face me. "Where did you come from?"  
"From a place called Shearance."  
"Is it nice there?"  
"Yeah," I stared into the glass-like pond, looking at the stars that reflected in it. "At this time of year, the Sherance Tree's flowers should be blooming."  
"Really? I can imagine the flowers now..."  
"You seem to like plants, Morpho." I stated.  
He averted his face away from me, trying to hide a light blush.  
"Well, um, you see, where I came from, there weren't very many flowers, just ice and snow."  
"Really? That kinda sounds like a place near the town..." I said.  
"The people who live there also have hearts that are made from the same stuff the ground is covered in..." He said as he balled his fist.  
_/What's wrong? I hope I didn't make him feel bad.../ _I said to myself as he suddenly got up.  
"Thanks for letting me talk to you, Reira," He said before he spread his wings and flew off.  
And in the moonlight, I saw a silvery tear fall down his cheek.


	6. Enter Ao

***Reia's POV, the next day***

"Reia, can you go to the General Store and get us some rice?" Ember asked as I thought about what happened with Morpho the other day.  
"Reia?"  
_/Morpho...I want to help you...I really do.../_ I thought as I stared off into space. _/...Y'know what?...I **will** help you!...I don't care what I'll have to sacrifice, I'll help you, starting today, Morpho!/  
_**"Reia!" **Ember's voice yelled as I snapped back into reality.  
"Gomen ne, Sis!" I said as I grabbed my money bag. "I'll be back!"  
**  
*****In town...***

"Thanks, Doug-san~!" I said as I put the 18 [yes, 18] bowls of rice in my bag and walked out.  
_/Now to find Morpho,/_ I said as I ran to the place that I thought he would be living at.  
_/Let's hope he's here./_ I walked inside the inn.  
"Hello, welcome to our inn! How may I help you?" A woman asked me.  
"M'am, I'm looking to see if you happen to know if Morpho is booked here."  
She looked through a small log for a moment and then came back.  
"Yes, but it seems he's not here at the moment," She said. "But I'm sure he'll be here for his daily evening bath."  
"Thank you, Miss-"  
"Lin fa."  
"Miss Lin Fa." I walked out and stood there thinking.  
_/He could be anywhere,/_ I said to myself, and then a smile played itself onto my lips.  
_/And I know just the place.../_

***Summer Lake, Morpho's POV***

_/Why am I here again?/ _I asked myself as I stared at my reflection that was of a indigo butterfly monster with crystal-blue wings and smokey-grey orbs that seemed to be in deep thought.  
_/...Oh, yeah, so I can find out why I'm like this.../  
_"Morpho!" I heard Reia's voice yell from nearby.  
_/No, no, she can't see me like this!/_ I started to panic, and then I hid in a nearby bush. _/She'll think I'm a Monster, she'll get everyone else, and We'll...we'll... lose our home.../  
_That's when she walked to the lake.  
"Oh wow..." Her eyes widened at the sight of something. "This is an Emery Flower..."  
She gently picked the flower and put it in her bag, and I heard something rustling in a tree that was above me.  
"AHH!" I heard Reia scream as something pounce on her.  
I leaped out of the brush and attacked the monster with a pair of thorn daggers that I had, it dodged the first attack and bit me on the arm, but then, I got it the second time, sending it to the forest of beginnings.  
I then checked on Reia, who wasn't hurt, just startled I suppose.  
"You're...so...beautiful..." She said as she reached out to pet me.  
I backed away from her, afraid that I would hurt her.  
"I'm friendly, don't worry." She said, and she scooted close to me, and reached out again.  
I let her pet my head, and to tell the truth, it felt pretty nice. [no wonder Woolies love this, and with a brush too!]  
"So, what monster are you exactly?"She asked as I shrugged.  
"Can you talk?"  
I shook my head. [not in this form really]  
"Hey, can I call you 'Ao' since you don't have a name?"  
I nodded.  
"Okay, Ao~!" She smiled. "Ao, you're hurt! Let me see."  
I pulled my arm away.  
"Ao, I'll fix it for you," She looked into my eyes. "Trust me."  
I looked into her turquoise orbs for a while, and then I let her touch the wound.  
"All done." She said as she wrapped her handkerchief sround the clean wound.  
"Do you feel better?"  
I nodded.  
"Really? I'm glad." She got up and put her backpack on.  
"See you later, Ao~!" She sang as she walked away.  
I touched the small orange-colored cloth.  
"Bye, Reia..."

***That night, Ember's POV***

"Reia, where have you been?!" I asked my little sister as she looked down at her boots.  
"I was out in the forest," She said. "Then, I was attacked by a monster, but then Ao saved me, and we became friends."  
"Who's 'Ao'?" I asked.  
"Ao's a blue-colored butterfly monster," She explained. "He had the most beautiful of wings."  
I sighed.  
"Anyway, I'm glad you came home safe and sound, Reia," I said as I handed her a bowl of rice. "Now let's eat, shall we?"  
**  
**


	7. Sword and Shield

***Morpho's POV***

_/Reia...why can't I stop thinking about you?/  
_"Oi, Morpho?" Specter asked.  
"Yeah?" I said.  
He stared at me for a moment.  
"...Ai..." He murmured.  
I shuddered.  
"Oi, _Morpho_!" He nudged me in the arm. "So who's your Kanojou~?"  
I blushed madly.  
"According to your spirit energy...It's someone you recently met, in other words, love at first sight." I almost forgot he was the Prince of Phantoms.  
He winked at me, already knowing who it was, and also telling me that he'll keep it secret.  
_/Thanks...Spect./  
_"There you guys are," Iris said walking into the room, her fuzzy tail swishing with relief. "We thought you went out of town or something."  
"But you were just up here." Marine said, her thin tail swishing around.  
"So, what're you two up to?"  
"N-nothing."  
"Then why's your face-"  
"I think I have to go get stuff for dinner, sorry, bye!" I said as I ran out of the inn.  
_/The Phantom, The Priestess, and the Siren.../_ I thought as I flew into the sky. _/...But...what am I?/_

***Sora's POV***

"Sora-nii?" Reia asked me as I put down my 3rd bowl of rice.  
"Yeah."  
"I'll be going into the forest for a bit," She said. "Can you come get me when lunch's ready?"  
"Sure, Rei," I said as I continued to eat. "See you soon."  
As soon as she closed the door I turned into a wooly and secretly followed after her.  
After a while she came to the summer lake and sat there, waiting.  
Suddenly, a winged creature descended from the sky and perched next to Reia.  
"You actually came, Ao!" Reia said as she hugged the butterfly monster. [For some odd reason there was an orange cloth around it's arm.]  
"Hey, I brought you some apples," Reia opened her bag and about 4 apples fell out. "Do you like apples?'  
'Ao' nodded.  
"There's enough for everyone, so dig in!" And after that they shared the apples and played around for a little  
"How's your arm doing?"  
It nodded a response.  
"That's great!" She smiled such a nice smile.  
"Um...Ao...I have something to confess..."  
He listened intently.  
She turned into her wooly form, and the butterfly monster looked at her with wide, grey eyes.  
"So...um..."  
"...I...have to tell you a few things too..." Ao said for the first time as he transformed into something, no, **someone.**  
"..Hi...Reia..." Morpho laughed sheepishly.  
"M-morpho?! You're Ao?!" Reia said as he nodded.  
"But there's one other thing I have to tell you..." He said. "...I...I..."  
There was a pause.  
"Aishiteru..." He whispered.  
Reia turned red.  
I decided to leave, if I stayed. it would've made me sicker than I was already feeling.  
/So you've found your Oji,/ I thought as I walked back home in the afternoon light. /Hime-sama./  
**  
*Specter's POV, That night***

"So, Mor- 'Ao', how did it go today?" I asked as we sat on the top of the airship.  
"It went really good," He said happily. "It turns out, she's actually a wooly, pretty cool, huh?"  
"Wow, a 'half' like us?" I asked.  
He nodded.  
"Hey Morpho, I've found out some stuff about all of us while I was doing stuff today."  
"Like what?"  
"Well, I went to go visit Lady Ventuswill today..."  
_*Flashback*  
"Wow, this place's awesome!" I said as Vishnal, a butler to the twin Royals, smiled at me.  
"If you think the garden's cool, you should check out how many trophies they've won in the past years!"  
"It must be all 1st placers with this grade of soil!" I said running my hand through the dirt.  
"You must know a lot about gardening."  
"Oh, no, Morpho taught me about soil quality and farming back where we came fro-"  
"Vishnal, Lady Ventuswill has something for you to do." Clorica, another butler said from the doorway.  
"I'm sorry, but duty calls!" Vishnal said as he rushed inside the castle.  
/I wonder what's over there.../ I thought to myself as I opened a door that led to a different room.  
It had a weapon rack, a crafting table, and other things that adventurers would flip about.  
/This must be Frey and Lest's room./ I said to myself as I touched a flower sword on the weapon rack.  
A vision came to me of two little girls swinging around plant swords, one had silver hair, the other had violet.  
/What was that?/ I brushed it off and my hand accidentally brushed a shield.  
This vision had two little boys playing with one another, one was older with chocolate-brown hair and had a sock puppet on his hand entertaining the smaller one that was giggling and teething on the puppets head.  
Then it came to me.  
*End of flashback*  
_"Basically what I'm trying to say is..." I paused trying to catch my breath from telling this story.  
"That we might be related?" Morpho said.  
"Exactly," I said. "And I have an idea to who."


	8. Sayonara, Watashi no Ai

***Morpho's POV***

"Oi, Ao," I heard Reia's voice. "I'm not late, am I?"  
"No, you're right on time, Reia." I said as we set out a picnic.  
"Ao, say 'Ahh'~" Reia said as she held out a spoon of cheesecake.  
"Ahh." I said as she laughed lightly.  
I opened my mouth and she fed me.  
"Alright, then," I said as I got a spoonful of cheesecake. "Ore no turn."  
Reia copied my actions, and I now fed her.  
"Oi, Ao, you have a little cake on your face." She said as she grabbed a napkin and gently wiped the cake off my cheek. "There, all clean."  
We stayed at the summer lake until the sun started to set.  
"Wow, look how pretty the sky looks from here." Reia said as we both sat on top of a tree looking at the setting sun.  
"It looks like someone painted the sky, right, Reia?" I asked, and she smiled a 'yes'.  
_/I wish we could stay like this forever.../_ I thought as she snuggled close to me.  
**  
*Later...***

"NANDE?!" Marine yelled. "What do you mean, 'Hime'?!"  
"Yeah, and why aren't the other parents here?" Iris asked.  
"Girls, all that we know is that we are related to Frey and Lest," Specter said. "And also that Iris was the first to know about this."  
"That's it, I'm going to go and ask the twins, and see if your visions are right." Marine said as she ran out of the room.  
"Morpho, go follow her," Specter said. "Iris and I will find a way to link this all together."  
"Hai." I nodded as I jumped out the window and flew towards the castle.  
I landed in the Dragon Room, next to the sleeping lady Ventuswill.  
Then, I sneaked over toward the door leading to the twins' room, and cracked the door open a little.  
"Lady Frey, Sir Lest, I would like to ask you a question."  
"Yes, what is it?" Frey asked.  
"Is it true that you both were involved in relationships with the Guardians?"  
The room was silent.  
"Yes, that's true." Lest said. "Amber and Dolce."  
"Dylas and Leon." Frey said.  
"Where are the others?" Marine said.  
"We don't know," Frey said. "They've been gone for over a decade now, and nobody's been able to get in their dungeons ever since they disappeared."  
"We think they may be in there." Lest finished.  
"Thank you, both of you," Marine said as she headed towards the door. "Goodnight."  
I then Flew back to the inn to meet her.

***The Next Day, Reia's POV***

"30 BOWLS OF RICE?!" I said as I read the grocery list.  
"Man, that's a lot of rice!" Doug commented as he helped me pack the bowls in my backpack.  
"Thank you so much, Doug!" I said as I made my way to give a gift to my new boyfriend, Morpho.  
To my surprise he was looking at the airship.  
"Ao, you like airships?" I said as he glanced at me.  
"Yeah, I just can't believe how such a big thing can fly on it's own."  
I stared at it for sometime while he explained the different components of an airship and what they do.  
"I got you a present, Ao." I said as I opened my bag and pulled out a small thing.  
"Toyherb..." He said as he smelled the flowers. "So relaxing."  
I smiled at him.  
"Um, Reia, I have something to tell you," Morpho asked as we sat on a bench. "We've found out where are parents are."  
My eyes grew wide with amazement.  
"That's great, Ao!" I said hugging him.  
"Well, there's one big problem." He said.  
I let go and looked into his smokey-grey eyes.  
"It's a long way from here, and we don't know if we'll be able to return here." He said as he held me close.  
"I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me."  
I was speechless.  
"Gomenasai, Ao," I said. "I have to bring my mom back home."  
"I understand." He said as he let me go.  
"But, can I give you my going away gift?" He asked, I nodded.  
He scooted over to me and placed a kiss on my lips.  
"A-ao, what was that?" I said as I tried to hide my blush from my first kiss.  
"That was half of my going away present," He said as I felt cold metal on my neck. "And this is the other half."  
I looked at my neck and saw that I had a golden necklace with a silver star-shaped charm.  
"Ao, it's beautiful..." I commented.  
"Glad you thought so." He said as I felt a gush of wind behind me.  
I turned around and he was gone.  
_/Until we meet again,/_ I thought as I walked to our tent. _/Morpho.../_


End file.
